Mesolithic bone hammer

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Mesolithic bone hammer. Perforated Radius from a Aurochs - wild ox. It was used as an hammer and was found in the Thames at Hammersmith. Antler and bone tools dated from 9000- 4000BC are mostly made of red deer antler. All of the samples found are perforated for the insertion of a wooden haft and were probably used for digging up edible roots and tubers. There are two main groups of mesolithic bone tools: the earlier pieces were made from the portion of the antler attached to the animal's skull and are known as antler-base mattocks. The later pieces were made from the main antler shaft and are referred to as antler-beam mattocks.